Aura pointed at the corner of her left eye, where a scar, she said, reminded her of why she had left the Colombian coastal region of Córdoba seven months ago. Her ex-boyfriend, a local police officer, had beaten her and threatened to kill her if she reported him to the authorities, she said. Fearing for her life, the 31-year-old decided to embark on a more than 2,000-mile journey north to a country she considered to be the safest in the world.
“I told my eldest daughter I was leaving for the US,” said Aura, whose last name the Guardian is withholding due to concerns for the safety of her family in Colombia. “But I promised her that I will find a job and provide her an education.”
